Larkspur, Corte Madera ironing out wrinkles in fire merger

Feb. 28--Larkspur and Corte Madera officials have some housekeeping to do before each of their respective councils could consider formalizing a consolidation of fire departments.

An ad-hoc committee on Monday tackled issues such as California Public Employees's Retirement System and other post-retirement packages, labor agreements, existing capital assets, insurance, funding and staffing.

"This hasn't really been a negotiation, it's been a problem-solving session," said Corte Madera Town Manager Todd Cusimano. "We are 90 percent there, to having this transition document done."

Cusimano expects they will be able to prepare draft documents for the labor groups representing each fire department to review and vote on within about 60 days. The hope is to have the consolidation formalized this fall.

One of the issues that has come up for officials so far is how a combined fire department will handle CalPERS for existing and new employees.

In Corte Madera, firefighters are enrolled in a 3 percent at 50 retirement plan. Larkspur is 3 percent at 55.

Also, Corte Madera firefighters seem to be retiring on average closer to age 55 rather than 50.

Together, the unfunded liabilities for the city and town add up to about $12 million, with Corte Madera's liability slightly higher.

Cusimano said by possibly changing the CalPERS agreement for existing Corte Madera firefighters to match Larkspur's, the town could bring down that expense.

Also, the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 puts a cap on how much an employee could earn in retirement. Cusimano said it could be a $35,000 to $40,000 difference in total compensation.

The ad-hoc committee, which consists of municipal managers and council members, is expected to hold at least two more meetings before making a recommendation to the city and town councils.

It is unlikely that officials will have everything in order before July 1, when the new fiscal year begins. But Cusimano said the staff knows well enough what a consolidation would look like and could budget appropriately and adjust later if needed.

"We can go into it in July with the mindset that we are consolidated -- what that would look like dollars and cents -- and it wouldn't affect us negatively when the consolidation happens in September or October," he said.

The two departments have been sharing services in some form since 2013.

The neighboring towns have been officially exploring a consolidation of their fire departments since 2015. Last July, the municpalities held a joint meeting to formalize an interim joint fire command staff.

Larkspur fire Chief Scott Shurtz has been running both departments since March. His annual salary is $168,000.

Initially, there could be some start-up costs, but using the model set by the Central Marin Police Authority, municipal officials expect to improve its level of service and see cost savings.

This year Larkspur and Corte Madera budgeted about $4 million and $5 million, respectively, for fire services. Officials said the city and town could eventually save about $159,000 and $155,000, respectively.

Corte Madera fire Capt. Nick Gabbard and Larkspur fire Capt. Tom Timmer represent each department's labor group and said they were pleased with the process and that it has been collaborative.

"We've got the right people in the right positions," Timmer said.

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